CopyPaste Pro, from the developer Plum Amazing, describes itself as “Time Machine for your clipboard” and is designed to give a much-needed refresh to this simple, yet vital feature. There are plenty of features built in which not only bring some added functionality to moving text around but also some useful little perks which may help you become more productive by helping you to save time.
Let’s have a look to see what features CopyPaste Pro gives you and how it can be a radical change to the way you work.
Time for a Change
The ability to cut, copy and paste text, images and other files has been a core component of most operating systems for decades. The term first came about in the 1970s and took its name from manuscript editing where people would literally cut out paragraphs and paste them onto a new page using glue.
In 1981, Apple implemented this function onto its Lisa personal computer using the same shortcuts we are familiar with today, Command + C, V and X, and it has been pretty much been a feature of every single operating system since.
Cutting, copying and pasting has been around on operating systems for many years now
However, ever since its birth, copying and pasting has remained a very basic tool, especially on the Mac, where you can only copy and paste one piece of information (bonus points if you know how to kill and yank text). Many people would argue that the current system of copying and pasting works absolutely fine, and stick to the old motto of “if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it”. But, instead of fixing it, why not improve on an existing utility?
CopyPaste Pro advertises itself as "Time Machine for the Clipboard" and enhances the simple copy-paste function of OS X
Features
CopyPaste Pro has plenty of features built in that can not only help you to become more productive but also help you to save precious time and get more done.
Multiple Clippings
With standard cut, copy and paste you can only copy one bit of information. Any information that you copy afterwards is lost. CopyPaste Pro allows you to copy multiple pieces of information to the clipboard without overwriting anything that you have already copied.
CopyPaste Pro allows you to clip multiple bits of information
This is a lifesaver for anyone who needs to remember several bits of information or is constantly copying different items, such as addresses or telephone numbers. It helps you save time as well as preserves your sanity – I know how irritating it can be to constantly copy the same bit of information several times!
Multiple Views
CopyPaste Pro makes it easy to search through your clippings as well. When you install the app, a discreet icon pops up in your notification bar, allowing you to easily access the in-built menu and view the list of options.
The archive and history icons on your desktop
Every single clipping that you make is saved in a menu, making them easily accessible and allowing you to see what information you have copied onto the clipboard. By hovering over the clipboard icon with the H on it (which is placed onto your desktop when you install the application), a little popup window appears so you can easily select which clipping you want to use.
Clip Editing
CopyPaste Pro allows you to edit clippings already on the clipboard via Bean, a free word processor which is bundled in with the application. This means that you can quickly edit any existing clippings without having to recopy them, a useful feature if your clipping is quite long or intrinsic.
Bean is included with CopyPaste Pro, allowing you to edit your clippings easily
Clip Tools
CopyPaste Pro boasts an army of extra little tools and utilities which are designed to make your life slightly easier and simplify your work. You can, for example, shorten URLs, calculate sums and insert the date and time quickly into various documents – a real bonus.
The extra tools included with CopyPaste Pro
Clip Archiving
If you need to copy the same bit of information multiple times, then you can archive certain clippings so as to make sure they don’t disappear when you copy a new bit of information or restart your computer.
You can archive any clippings you make, meaning you can easily access them later
To see which clippings are already in your archive, you can hover over the A icon on the desktop or select it via the menu in the notification bar. All your archived clippings then show up in a pop-up box.
Clip History
Hovering over the H icon on the desktop brings up a history of your clippings, meaning that you can easily see what you have already copied to the clipboard.
CopyPaste Pro creates a history of your clippings, like in most web browsers
You can, as well, select clippings from your history to paste into documents, again allowing you to save time searching through your documents to find out what you copied!
Alternatives:
Admittedly, $30 is a bit high for this type of utility. If you’re not convinced that this is the tool for you, check out these awesome alternatives:
- ClipMenu (Free)
- RePasta (free)
- iCopy ($0.99)
- MemoClip ($1.99)
- Clyppan ($3.99)
- Pasteboard ($4.99)
- CopyPaster ($6.99)
- Clips ($7.99)
- ClipList ($9.99)
Conclusion
CopyPaste Pro is an example of a very flexible application because, unlike other productivity applications, it has so many different uses. The developers have improved on such a basic computer function and the results are genius.
The developer of CopyPaste Pro, Plum Amazing, seems to demonstrate this in its other programs – taking simple system programs and pumping them full of oomph and extra features.
CopyPaste Pro has really helped me save time and it is a joy to use – simplistic and feature-rich. Some people may think, however, that the retail price of $30 for the program is a little too much to spend on just a simple utility but you’ll discover that once you get it, you’ll wonder how you ever did without it.